Child abuse victims demand access to police records

Two people who were charged with child abuse last year were charged this week with performing sex acts on the same child victim, according to the Troutman Police Department.

Police say the sex acts happened at the same time as the abuse last year, but only just recently came to light.

Stephanie Johanna Giddens, 37, and her 38-year-old boyfriend, Andrew Patrick Williams, are facing several felony charges related to the alleged sexual assault, which took place in June 2016.

According to Troutman Police Chief Matthew Selves, the two were suspects in a child abuse case at that time involving the same victim. The couple lived together in a home on Cedar Street.

The Record & Landmark is not reporting details about the victim’s identity, including name and age. The child is a relative of Giddens, according to court documents.

In the original abuse case, Giddens and Williams were charged with tying the victim up by the child’s hands and ankles using belts, the arrest warrants say. The victim’s ankles, wrists, back, chest and face were bruised and the child was treated at a hospital, according to other documents in the court file.

Giddens admitted to tying the child up, the court document said, and social services took emergency custody of the child at that time.

Giddens and Williams were both charged with misdemeanor child abuse. Giddens was also charged at the time with misdemeanor false imprisonment.

The charges against Williams were dismissed. Giddens was convicted only on the child abuse charge later that year and was placed on 18 months of probation.

The case was considered closed, Selves said, until new information surfaced.

According to an arrest warrant, Williams allegedly performed several sex acts on the child. The sexual assault inflicted “serious mental injury” on the child, the warrant alleges.

Giddens allowed the alleged sexual assault to happen, according to her arrest warrant.

Williams was arrested at his home on Monday and charged with intentional child abuse inflicting serious injury and two counts of statutory sex offense with a child by an adult, Selves said.

Giddens was arrested Wednesday when she arrived at her probation officer’s office. She was charged with child abuse causing serious physical injury and two counts of child abuse by a sex act.

All charges are felonies.

Williams was given a $250,000 secured bond. Giddens has a $150,000 secured bond. Both were still in custody on Friday.

Williams has a criminal history which includes assault, assault on a law enforcement officer, possession of a controlled substance and multiple DWI charges, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety offender search.